Stumble Into the Light
by The BirdFox Hybrid Productions
Summary: Heroes aren't always just for storybooks anymore. RS.AR.CL.


**Stumble**

* * *

Over the course of many years, Sora had gradually come to the realization that no matter how alone he felt, how empty inside and out of touch with people he could be, that he could always find solace in his writing. When he'd initially moved away from Twilight Town and to Destiny Islands, Sora had fallen into a depression. It had been induced from losing the daily contact with his best friend, Roxas, and being forced into a completely different environment.

Where Twilight Town had been filled with gangs, liberals and high school dropouts, Destiny Islands was full of sports-loving beach junkies who thought smoking pot was the 'in' thing. It was a place where the students were permitted to wear sandals to school and members of the blitzball team were idolized.

Roxas, Sora's best friend and closest confidant, had dropped out from Twilight High whenever his father had died, much to Sora's dismay. They'd gotten into a heated argument over it for weeks, though Sora knew that the blond had only done so in order to take a paying job to help pull his weight around the apartment Sora knew Roxas shared with his mother and sister.

Not long after that, Sora's parents had decided to move him out of his home town and drag him all the way across the world to a little island where new sitcoms were the biggest thing and the most popular kid in school could surf like a professional, but couldn't add two plus two.

It had taken a good two years for Sora to adapt to being friends with beach boys and teeny-bopper girls, and he was quite well known throughout the school for being exuberant and easy to get along with. However, Sora had yet to find another person like Roxas that he could connect with, and found most of his free nights sitting at home at the computer and a bag of chips. It was the reason Sora had been pleased to get a job at the local surf-shop, interacting with his peers while ringing up boogie boards and swimsuits.

No matter how much Sora could keep himself occupied, it seemed as if every day was a repeat of the previous one, and it would sometimes send the brunet into a sinking feeling of loneliness. Today was one of those days, and Sora found himself seated in the corner of the gym during his last period, notebook in one hand and pen in the other as he scribbled down bits and pieces of a story that he and Roxas had discussed on the phone the previous night.

Nearly a year ago, they'd both decided to finally combine their heads to write a story filled with action, adventure, romance and everything that the average teenager secretly desired. Sora found himself constantly filled with ideas for developments in their story, and they'd written hundreds of pages already. It wasn't anywhere near finished, but Sora hoped that one day it could be published into a book and maybe even made into a movie.

"Heads up!" Sora glanced up just in the nick of time, gasping and ducking his head as a blitz ball whizzed a hair above him, smacking into the wall and then plopping none-too-gently into his lap, causing the heels of his sneakers to dig into his thighs. He scowled at the offending object, putting down his notebook to lift the blitz ball up and examine it. A pair of sneakers stopped in front of him and Sora looked up to lock eyes with sheepish aquamarine ones.

"Sorry about that."The boy looked honestly apologetic, his cheeks red from exertion and his head ducked in a sheepish bow. Sora tossed the ball up to him and the he was given another 'sorry' again. The boy ran a hand through golden yellow hair before blurting out, "Did you wanna play?" Sora looked mildly surprised, resisting the urge to throw his books down and instead shaking his head.

"Sorry, I have this thing I gotta write." He said, shrugging weakly. The boy looked disheartened but bobbed his shoulders up and down. "Alright then," The reply was made almost too-softly for Sora to pick up, and the boy began jogging back to his small group of friends when his name was called.

Sora watched them for a moment longer before looking back down at his notebook, sighing at the multitude of still-blank pages. He clicked the lead into his pencil and thought for a moment, before writing down a name. The story had two main characters, both of them were parodies of Roxas and himself.

Alas, they were well aware that it still needed romance, but Sora had been reluctant to create an entire man just for himself. He didn't want to be so selfish- even though Roxas already had Lae's design entirely filled out and complete with a back story- Sora decided now was as good a time as any, and scribbled down a trial name.

_Kiru._

Sora knew exactly what he wanted in a boyfriend. He'd had enough time to himself that he was able to sort out the aspects of the female race that he didn't like, why he didn't like them, and why he would prefer a boy. He knew he wanted a boy who was strong, but not so strong that they couldn't wrestle and have the entire thing be completely one-sided. He wanted someone who understood Sora's humor, but wasn't an idiot. He wanted a guy who could play sports, read books and sit with Sora in a movie theater and not let his hands wander. Sora wanted a guy that wasn't down on himself all the time - he'd had enough pessimists back in Twilight Town to last him a lifetime - but not someone that always took life as a joke.

Sora began to write. From his pencil flowed the most detailed character he'd ever made completely out of his imagination. He didn't stop writing until the final bell rang and students instantly fled the gym. Sora gathered his book bag, sticking his pencil into the pocket of his cargo shorts and hurriedly exiting the gym. Even though he was a senior, Sora could hardly afford a car, let alone buy the laptop that he desired. Instead, he resorted to taking the bus every day to and from school while saving up his money earned from working in Cid's car shop when he wasn't scheduled at Surfer's Blitz. That was where he found solace -- amidst the older man's crabbing and bitching about Sora's lack of skills in changing tires quickly and efficiently -- Sora had come to the realization that he always had time to think clearly when he was under the hood of a car, tinkering with its mechanics and getting his hands covered in grease.

Sora tugged his headphones out of his pocket, slipping them into his ears and somehow managing to keep hold of his books at the same time. He pulled on the chord to tug his mp3 player out of his pocket, snatching it up and hitting play a second before the brunet was pulled into the traffic of kids. He shifted and bumped his way to the bus area, scoping out his own bus and hopping up the steps, eyes landing on his assigned seat behind the driver and sliding into it.

He leaned his head against the window, eyes slipping shut as the familiar sound of foreign rock music blasted into his head. All around him, kids that lived in his neighborhood shouted and threw paper balls at each other before the bus driver snapped at them to shut up and sit down. It had become routine - and Sora allowed himself to succumb to his music when the bus started up and they began to pull out of the school.

He'd always been one to look for music that most fit what he was feeling at that time, and as images of his faux -boyfriend flitted in his head, Sora's lips moved softly to the chorus of one of the few songs that struck him as something that should have hit the charts better than it did.

"You _are_ the one." He whispered softly, his brows furrowing, "You'll _never _be alone again; you're _more_ than in my head. _You're more_..." As the chorus repeated, Sora pressed his head into the window, a wave of sorrow washing over him as the brunet poured more emotion into his soft-spoken whisper than he knew was wise. He spent more time making the people around him happy than he did making himself happy. There was only so much optimism that he could contain before he ran dry.

Sora wasn't always so depressive- but being alone for so long made it nearly unbearable for him. He released a soft breath of air then the song finished. A song, one that Roxas had suggested, called _'Can't Stop'_ by The Red Hot Chili Peppers started up, and Sora opened his eyes.

Some sick form of macabre horror rose into his pale eyes, watching something large and black coming straight for the other side of the bus as the drums of the song began to pick up. It wasn't a vehicle- judging by the long limbs reaching for the bus and the glowing circles that stared into Sora's very soul. His heart quickened, a scream tearing through his mouth and joining the yells of the other students as the bus lurched at the same time that the song burst out into the main part. Sora clutched to his seat, concentrating on the music at the same time that the bus began to tilt over.

Kids screamed, slipping down onto Sora's side of the bus, and the brunet vaguely recognized Tidus' terrified face before the blitzball player fell onto him. Sora's breath escaped his chest in a whoosh, his vision filled with bleach blond hair. The volume of the song barely matched the loud, frightened yells and screams of the other students on the bus. Sora clutched to his seat, one hand instantly wrapping around Tidus' shoulders to hold his friend in place when the bus hit the side, glass shattering everywhere and some of it flying up to cut Sora's cheek and arm. Pain flared up in an instant, and the momentum of the impact sent Sora's head cracking against the metal strip next to the window. Tidus latched onto Sora's body, his voice a mantra of "**Oh God**, _oh God oh God oh God oh God_!"

It was like watching everything from a dream, the music playing in the background as the creak of metal and broken glass matched sobs, screams, yelling, and pleads of teenagers. The bus still rocked unsteadily, now entirely on its side, and Tidus had yet to release his vice grip on Sora. The brunet's head and stomach lurched, everything spinning unsteadily before he registered the soft '_ahhhh_' from the song that still played on his headphones, another spike of pain flaring up in his head before everything went black.

-

When Sora woke up, it was a sudden jerk into consciousness, a panic filling him before he even knew why he would be feeling it. His mp3 player was playing a fast-paced song he instantly recognized as being from a movie he'd been fond of. His eyes darted wildly around himself, taking in the sight of broken glass and bodies scattered and strewn all over the interior of the bus. His vision cleared, and Sora suddenly realized that the shadows that were draped all over the bus were moving.

Sora couldn't restrain the shriek of surprise that escaped him, scrambling backwards with a sudden panic as one of the small and humanoid shadows fell down onto Tidus' prone form, its small claws digging into the blonde's back. There was nothing on its face except two yellow orbs that concentrated on where its inhuman claws sunk inside of the blitzball player's body.

Sora couldn't help but feel horrified, unable to move - to tear his eyes from the sight - and his breathing quickened into a panicked and uneven series of gasps, watching as a light began to burst from Tidus' body. The creature retracted its hands, something bright and glowing inside of the little claws. Terror was so evident to Sora that it was nearly asphyxiating him to watch the small monster lift the glowing ball, its head separating to reveal a hole for a mouth, dripping with darkness. The thing shoved the glowing orb into its mouth, hiding the light instantly as Tidus' body shuddered and went still.

A scream tore itself from Sora's mouth and the brunet scrambled back, his body hitting the roof of the bus, his stomach heaving dryly. Glass crunched under his sneakers, making it difficult to keep his footing as the teen clutched at his abdomen, his other hand holding his mouth as another empty retch coiled from his stomach, a gagging sound escaping him. His heart fluttered wildly in his chest, and Sora couldn't stop the pools of tears that began to gather in his frightened azure eyes.

The black creature gazed at Sora with golden eyes, inching forward, tiny claws reaching out for the brunet. Sora darted his gaze to see the other monsters slowly crawling towards him, and searched frantically for the nearest emergency exit. He scrambled across the broken glass, cutting up his hands and shorts when he lost his footing and fell across the expanse of shattered windows in his wild attempt to reach the roof exit.

The creatures began to draw in closer, and Sora tugged and pushed on the red lever until the small door popped open. He pulled himself up and tried to wriggle through it, shouting out when he felt something tug on his leg, and kicked his foot wildly before falling completely out of the small doorway.

He hit the ground hard; pain shooting up his arms in crippling flares and the glass that had previously stuck in his hands were forced deeper into his palms. Sora's fingers trembled, and he hurriedly looked behind himself to see the shadow monsters creeping from inside of the bus to get to him as blood began to pool all over his arms and legs. Sora gasped, his eyes tearing up in a twisted mixture of pain and terror.

Glass scrapped along the asphalt as Sora pushed himself to his feet, hands shaking so badly that he couldn't even clench them into fists. Before Sora could even make it very far, he was brought to a sudden halt as another throe of pain struck him in the back, like a knife being driven into his shoulder blade. He screamed in agony, his hands twitching wildly as he fell to the ground, scratching the skin open in the process. His eyes searched around frantically, catching sight of a thin, yellow and black-armored soldier standing over him, its golden eyes sightless and a large, blood-tipped and crooked lance held in black claws.

With a gasp of terror, the brunet teen tried to scramble away without falling down or using his hands. The creature followed, its armor clacking loudly with the movements. Sora knew he was becoming hysterical -- unsure of what to do or how to react as hundreds of humanoid shadows began to swarm around him, as if obeying the commands of the odd soldier monster.

Sora tripped over a CD player that must have flown from the wreckage of the bus, cupping his arms to his body and protecting his already damaged-hands when he hit the ground shoulder-first, head cracking against the pavement and his world spinning out of focus. In a second, the lance was pointed at Sora's prone form and the monsters struck.

For a second, Sora was sure that he was going to die in the midst of chaos -- feeling little claws tearing at his clothes, and soul-shattering agony ricocheting through him as their nails began to dig into his chest, ripping the skin above his heart, as if digging for something. He was almost positive that the screaming he heard was his own -- but Sora felt disconnected from it all.

A flash of light burst through the writhing mass of shadows, and Sora -- instantly -- thought he'd finally succumbed to death.

There was a series of awful and inhuman shrieks before someone's hand was grabbing to his shoulder, shaking it furiously, while another hand - Sora noted the feel of strong calluses - pressed gently against his chest, shivers of pain shooting through Sora's body at the touch.

"Heal." A deep, gentle voice whispered softly. Within a second, Sora felt soothing waves trickle over him, making it easier to breathe as the pain in his chest dulled. The hands left his chest and shoulder, only to grasp at his left arm, fingers gently touching at Sora's tattered palm.

His eyes clenched shut, but soon flickered open as his savior uttered the same word as before, and he felt his body force the glass shards out, the pain disappearing quickly. He looked up, eyes focusing on a head of silver hair, a strong chin and jaw, and thin, pursed lips. The person above him -- a young man, no doubt, though his lower face was covered by the thick brown cloak around his neck and shoulders -- turned to grab Sora's other hand, repeating the action and healing his injuries.

Coherency sharply returned as the numbing pain left his body, and Sora quickly moved to sit up. The boy before him hurriedly pulled on a pair of thick brown gloves before he reached out, helping Sora to sit, and watching him with wary eyes. "Are you alright now?" The boy asked, looking as if it were dire that Sora be in prime condition.

Hesitation struck him at first, but Sora nodded. "I'm... yeah- I'm good."

A flicker of relief darted over aquamarine eyes, and the silver-haired teen stood quickly, pulling Sora to his feet without a word in edgewise from the brunet. "Then can you run? The heartless won't be stopped for very long." There was urgency in the very way that the boy spoke, and Sora nodded.

"Yeah- I think so... heartless?"

"No time." Was his answer, and in an instant, they were running, running from the wreckage -- from the dead bodies strewn on the streets, past stopped cars and through red traffic lights covered in more of the shadow creatures. They left what Sora knew, left behind Tidus' lifeless form and away from the very notebook that Sora cherished so dearly.

Sora gasped as realization struck, stopping instantly. "_My notebook!_" He cried out, despair hitting him with a force to be reckoned with. The boy in front of him stopped also, turning to give Sora a look of confusion and tugging on the brunet's wrist in an attempt to get Sora running again. The shorter teen refused, however, and pulled his hand out of his savior's grasp.

"I have to get my notebook!" Sora responded his voice apologetic as he turned running back through the wreckage and hysteria and towards the bus. He could hear the silver-haired boy running behind him, yelling for Sora to stop, and not to be crazy, that there were too many heartless around that area. Sora disregarded all of this -- his panic hitting him even as he dodged attacks by the monsters with golden eyes and sharp weapons -- all of them trying to get at Sora's heart.

Sora reached the emergency exit of the bus, kicking back another small shadow monster and scrambling back inside just as the silver-haired boy grabbed his ankle, pulling. "We have to get out of here, kid!" The boy yelled, though his voice was muffled from the other side, Sora wriggled his foot wildly -- though it was in vain when he realized that his savior's grip was steadfast.

"_Please!_" He cried out, hoping that the other boy could hear him through the metal of the bus. "I have to get my notebook!" He yelled, despair crawling inside of him as the monsters began to climb towards were Sora was now trapped halfway inside of the bus.

The grip on his ankle seemed to loosen just a fraction -- as if his savior had hesitated in his resolve. He instantly took advantage, wriggling the rest of the way into the bus and making sure to grab the sides of the seats so that he wouldn't cut his hands open again. He crawled around the large bench-like seats, his foot lashing out to kick at an armor-clad monster, it did little to stop the creature, but gave Sora enough time to run around it and reach his backpack, snatching it up and dumping the contents out in an attempt to find his book. Catching sight of the little journal, Sora picked it up just in time to hear a voice yelling for him to hurry.

He whirled around, seeing the silver-haired boy watching him anxiously. Sora hurried back, screaming in surprise when one of the shadows dropped down from the 'roof' and landed on top of his head. Free hand flying up, Sora all-but flung the creature from him, adrenaline kicking in and causing the brunet to make a mad dash to where his savior had a hand out, reaching for Sora in an attempt to try and urge the boy to hasten his pace.

Sora reached forward, grabbing the boy's hand and allowing himself to be hoisted through the small doorway. With a shout of surprise, he tumbled over the other side, landing in a pair of strong arms that helped him to stand upright.

"Now come on, or I'm leaving you here." Though there was a strong enough threat in the statement- the way that the taller boy said it made Sora think that he didn't really mean it. Sora nodded, clutching tightly to his notebook and allowing himself to be pulled through the same morbid scenery once more.

Just when he thought he could run no more and his knees buckled just the slightest bit as less and less oxygen reached his body, they stopped. Sora paid no heed to his surroundings, dropping his notebook at his feet and grasping tightly to his knees as he greedily took in air, the slightest sheen of sweat trickling down his neck and along his forehead.

He felt a hand on his shoulder, eyes darting up to see the silver-haired teen watching him with some odd form of concern. Sora waved him off, however, and picked his notebook off of the ground. He straightened up, eyes finally falling onto something he knew didn't come from anywhere on Earth.

A ship -- something oddly shaped and brightly colored that resembled the UFOs that Sora often saw on television -- sat in a small alcove between two large palm trees. He didn't react at first, until he took note of someone familiar sitting in the doorway of what happened to look like a hatch. Sora instantly brushed off his savior's hand, rushing to Cloud's side. The blond was wrapped in a thick blanket, his gaze hollow and concentrated on the ground.

Cloud was the guy who ran the front desk at Cid's shop, a college sophomore majoring in human studies. He was kind, though he hardly talked, and often confessed to Sora things that the brunet knew a person saved for their closest confidant. "Cloud!" Sora exclaimed, reaching out in preparation to put his hands onto the blond's shoulders when a blade cut through the air between them -- stopping Sora from continuing

He followed the blade to its owner, staring down the brown haired man with a mildly put-out look. There was a scar running along the bridge of his nose, and his thin lips were pursed into a scowl. Slightly intimidated, Sora took a step back from Cloud, only to bump into someone.

"Riku. Who is this?" The brown haired man muttered, slinging his blade onto a shoulder and placing a gloved hand on his hip in an impatient manner. Sora looked behind himself to see the silver-haired boy, apparently named Riku.

Riku placed a strong hand onto Sora's shoulder, squeezing the thin appendage softly.

"He's what the heartless are after- I think he's what we're looking for." The man before them seemed to contemplate Riku's words for a moment, and then sheathed his sword.

"If we have what we're looking for, then we're leaving." He said gruffly, chestnut locks of hair falling from behind his ear to slip into his eyes -- causing Sora to take in the scar that had once seemed so menacing. It looked painful, a thick gash in between the rough man's eyes that gave him a hardened appearance.

Riku stepped past Sora, pushing the brunet back a step in some kind of assertive manner. "We can't leave- who's that?" Riku pointed a finger to Cloud, and the stoic man shrugged a single shoulder indifferently.

"He's coming with us."

"Leon!" Riku blurted out, ignorant to how Sora brushed past him to approach Cloud once more. "You can't honestly be serious? First of all -- I don't think he's your type, and second-"

"Riku." Leon snapped, a single hand jerking out to cut the shorter boy off. Riku's teeth clicked shut, the muscle in his jaw flexing angrily. Sora turned his gaze away from them and kneeled down in front of Cloud, his hands resting on the blond's knees. "Cloud?" He asked softly, though his voice was drowned out by the two behind him.

"He's coming with us." Leon said firmly, his tone one of no-nonsense. Sora's brows drew close together as Cloud remained unresponsive, his eyes an eerily hollow stare into the ground beside Sora. The brunet raised a hand to pat softly at his friend's cheek, but still no response.

"No he isn't! Leon, we don't have room for four people! Ships are built for three!"

"Riku- we have no choice." The dirt shifted, and Sora heard the sound of Leon's boot coming closer, standing beside Cloud and placing a hand on the blonds back. In an instant, Cloud stiffened, his eyes twitching and becoming a fraction wider. Concern etched itself onto Sora's face.

A fraction of a second passed before Sora's gaze fell to Cloud's thighs -- finally catching a pool of crimson that clung to the navy blue blanket. Sora hadn't noticed it at first, not until he realized that the sheen was actually blood, most likely Cloud's own. He opened his mouth to speak, when Leon wrenched the blanket away and Sora jerked back from Cloud with a scream, awe and terror striking him.

The instant that Leon had wrenched the fabric from Cloud's body, a hideous black wing seemed to tear forth, stretching out and sending specks of blood flying out -- some of it hitting Leon, others spattering against the ship. It was a wicked thing, curled and leathery like a bat's, but the same shade of black as the shadow creatures that had attacked the bus.

Riku jumped back, throwing a hand up as light surrounded his fingers, taking the form of a large key that became solid within seconds.

Cloud gasped sharply, his back arching as the wing gave a shudder, blood squelching in the joint that connected it to the side of his spine. Pain danced along the blond's face, and he instantly curled into a fetal position, releasing a keen.

Leon turned to Riku, discarding the blanket. "Sephiroth has half of his heart. We can't leave him here."

Sora, fixated on this hideously beautiful display from Cloud, was unable to see Riku's reaction, but heard the silver-haired boy begrudgingly agree to the man's statement.

Leon grunted, walking past Sora and slipping his arms around Cloud's prone form. "Get him inside, we're leaving in ten." He hoisted Cloud up like a small child, ignoring the other man's struggles and the bloody wing that flapped about wildly to try and stop him. When they disappeared past the hatch, Sora let out the long breath he'd been keeping inside of him and looked over to Riku.

The older boy rolled his eyes, making a motion like he was going to sheathe the large key in his hands when it disappeared into thin air.

"Well, come on then." Riku made his way up the hatch, throwing a look over his shoulder at Sora and urging the younger teen to follow him. Sora scrambled over to where he'd dropped his notebook, picking it up and hurrying after Riku as the stairs began to fold up behind him. He stumbled the very last few steps, running into Riku's back with a shout of surprise and apologizing when he was given an incredulous look from the other boy.

Riku shook his head, the movement causing locks of pale hair to fall over his broad shoulder. "Such a klutz." The older boy sighed mournfully while walking towards the center of the ship. Sora peered down at the pale white floor, taking in the sight of blood splatters leaving a trail towards the belly of the ship -- where he assumed Leon had taken his friend.

Sora held firmly to his notebook, jogging up behind Riku. "So, where are we going?" He chirped, watching Riku address a large panel of buttons and levers. "Are you gonna give me a ride home?" He got no response as the older boy flicked a small switch and meticulously punched in a series of buttons. Sora walked up behind him as the ship lurched into motion.

With a shout of surprise, his hand flew to the back of one of the chairs bolted to the cockpit area. "H-hey! I can't go anywhere; I have to be at work by four!" He raised his hand from the chair to glance at the bulky brown watch clasped loosely onto his thin wrist, reading the time with furrowed brows.

Riku looked up at Sora, his lips pursed into a scowl. "You don't really have a choice, we need you to come with us." He left the control panel, motioning for Sora to take a seat in the chair he stood beside. Instead of obeying the gesture, Sora stepped towards the silver-haired boy with hostility coiling inside of him.

"What's that supposed to mean?" He barked, feeling panic rise up in his gut like an animal trying to claw its way out. He clenched his hands into fists, drawing his notebook up to his chest and holding tightly to it. Riku shook his head -- the very motion jarring locks of starlight hair -- and sat down in one of the other seats.

"You know those things that attacked your... ship or whatever?" Sora went silent, confusion striking him tenfold at the boy's statement. He took the time to gaze at Riku's apparel, noting that it was something he'd never really seen on another human before.

It was like battle gear, the way his clothes clung tightly to him and his belt was filled with bags and other trinkets, even his pants -- which were tucked into a pair of heavy black boots with metal clasps on the ankles -- looked like they'd been through enough fights to give them the worn out look. Riku's arms went up to unhook the clasp around his neck that held his brown cloak in place, draping it over the chair.

"You mean the school bus?" Sora blurted out as he watched the older boy. Riku paused in the middle of removing his gloves to stare at Sora incredulously before nodding.

"If that's the name of that transport ship, then yes." Riku brushed a few stray locks of hair from his face, showing a glint of a dark silver earring before falling back into place. "Regardless, those things were heartless, and big ones. I don't know how long they've been on your world if they're already that developed." He sighed, leaning back into the chair and letting his head loll backwards in a lax manner.

"We'll have to leave as soon as Leon gets your friend settled in." Riku murmured, his eyes falling shut and hiding the vivid aquamarine orbs that were filled with weariness.

Sora scowled. "Didn't you hear me? I said I'm not leav-"

_pi pi pi pi pi_

Sora cut himself off in the midst of his protest as realization struck him that he still had his cell phone tucked into the pocket of his cargo shorts. In an instant, the brunet boy had the silver object out, eyes scanning Roxas' name on display screen before he flipped it open and brought it to his ears.

"Roxas?" He blurted out, brows furrowing in worry. He picked up the sound of Roxas shouting to someone else before addressing his best friend. "_Sora, are you okay? There's these black... black things attacking us! I don't know what to do! They're coming through the windows and -- and mom won't pick up her phone!_" The teen's voice was bordering on hysteria, and Sora could barely understand what his friend was saying because of the heavy breathing and panicked waver in his words.

Notebook falling from his hold and to the ground, Sora clutched to the phone. "C-calm down Roxas, tell me what happened." Riku glanced over to him, sitting forward with a tired grunt and reaching forward to pull some kind of switch on the underside of his seat. The floor panels in front of Riku's feet hissed and slid inside of the others, giving way to what looked like a steering wheel and control board that rose up in front of Riku.

_"I- I don't know, okay! I got home, and the neighbor was just laying in her front yard. I think she's dead. And like, I tried to call the hospital but nobody would answer. I- I went inside and like, I barely got in the house before all these black monsters were crawlin' in the windows and I don't know what to do!"_

Riku grabbed the panel, pulling it towards him and pressing down on something. "Leon, we're takin' off." He lifted his hand and began to hit switches. Sora glanced over to the front of the cockpit to see heartless scratching at the windshield to try and get in.

_"I grabbed my struggle bat, but when I hit them, they just turned to smoke. I don't know what to do, they're coming faster than I can stop them!"_ Roxas' voice hiccupped with a barely suppressed sob of fear. Sora let out a long sigh, his fingers trembling with too many emotions to even begin to identify just one.

"Just calm down, Roxas-" The ship lurched and Sora stumbled, reaching a hand out to grasp onto the arm rest of the seat beside Riku's. "Stay inside, it's probably getting worse out there and they'll be able to get to you more easily if you're in an open area."

_"It's not that easy!"_ Roxas barked from the other line, and it was followed by a thud and an animalistic shriek that had Sora worriedly calling out his friend's name. "Roxas, are you okay?"

_"I'm f-- -ra. Bu-- ings --ust --eep -- ming."_ Roxas' voice became incoherent, fizzing in and out as the ship began to shake. Sora glanced out the window to see clouds rushing past, and panicked.

"Roxas- Roxas can you hear me?" He was met with no answer, and pulled his phone from his ear to read _'call lost'_ flashing on the screen before it reverted to the menu screen. Cursing, Sora punched in Roxas' number and held it up to his ear.

_"Hey, you've reached Roxas. I'm not here, so just leave a message and I'll catch you later!"_ He ended the call and dialed again, only to be met with his friend's answering machine for the second time. Muttering angrily under his breath, Sora flipped his phone shut and stuffed it into his pocket, looking to where Riku was concentrating on steering the ship. The older boy spared Sora a glance, clearing his throat awkwardly.

"You might want to sit down, we're going to break the atmosphere in a second here." Sora didn't obey at first, but as the ship began to shake wildly, he scrambled to grab his notebook off of the ground and take a seat before he lost his footing and fell over. Riku pulled back on the wheel, one hand moving to flick some sort of switch as things became a blur in front of them.

Sora clenched his eyes shut, grasping the small red journal to his chest as his heart fluttered so heavily against his ribcage that it was nearly painful. He didn't know what to feel, considering he'd just been forced onto a ship with two strangers and an injured coworker, and was now on his way to leaving not only Destiny Islands, but the planet itself.

The ship gave a sudden, forceful heave before lurching forward and almost knocking Sora out of his seat. Eyes flying open, the lanky teen glanced around wildly to see nothing but white-dotted blackness before him. A prolonged silence fell over the two boys before the overhead lights hummed loudly and flickered on, illuminating everything at once. Sora bit down on his lower lip, casting his eyes onto the silver-haired youth beside him.

Riku's gaze was set out the window, his hands gripping to the wheel and his thin brows furrowed. Sora followed where Riku was looking to see a small horde of oddly-shaped objects hovering in front of them. Startled, the brunet leaned forward in his seat with a shout of, "What** are** those things?"

"Heartless ships, I figure they've been festering around your world for a few weeks before they decided to attack. My guess is they had a hard time finding you out of all those other hearts." Riku muttered jerking the wheel to the left as one of the ships made a mad dive for them. Sora clutched to his seat as the entire ship heaved to the side, his mind spinning. Riku repeated the action again, this time diving forward as a large black and silver heartless skimmed the roof with a screech of metal. Heavy footsteps came from the back of the ship as a siren went off overhead and a red light began to flash. Leon appeared next to Riku, staring outside and cursing at what he saw.

Turning to Sora, Leon's lips formed into a scowl. "**Get up**." He barked, his hand flying out to Sora's shoulder and forcefully pulling the smaller brunet out of the seat. Sora stumbled, falling to one knee before he leapt to his feet, watching Leon take his spot and pull the same sort of lever that Riku had done earlier.

"Get out of the way." Leon snapped, his icy voice sending chills through Sora's gut. Sora did as he was told, and quickly shuffled behind the older man to stare out the window. Leon glanced back at him, growling low in his chest. "Don't just stand there, go down that hallway and take a left. Watch your friend, make sure he doesn't try anything and hurt himself." Leon grabbed the panel that came up, pulling it towards him and taking hold of the joystick that was located at the center of it.

"Go!" This time, Sora obeyed and hurried out of the cockpit area and towards the back of the ship, clutching his notebook to his chest. The small hallway area was dark, lit up by small runway lights along the floor and ceiling, the latter of which were flashing red in sync with the siren that continued to wail from an unknown location. Turning left, Sora saw a door just a little ways down and walked up to it, dismayed to see no handle of any sort on its surface.

He ran his hand over the cool steel, dipping his fingers into the edge to try and force the door open, but to no avail. Letting out a huff, he caught sight of a large hand imprinted into the wall beside him. Seeing it made Sora think of all the science fiction movies he's ever seen, and the brunet teen shifted his notebook to his left hand to put his right one over the imprint.

The door hissed and opened, revealing a small bedroom inside with bunk beds and a night stand. His heart skipped a beat, racing against his ribcage for reasons unknown to Sora. His eyes landed on the large heap on the bottom bunk, and the splotches of blood that lead up to it. Though he was well aware that the person occupying the bed was Cloud, Sora couldn't keep his thoughts from straying to the words that Leon had spoken in regards to the blond man's heart. Steeling himself, Sora stepped in the room and almost screamed when the door shut behind him instantly, instead gasping softly and throwing his hand up to calm his fluttering heart. He could still hear the muted alarm wailing outside, but now it wasn't as deafening to the ears.

The ship lurched to the side, and Sora tumbled forward, clutching to the post of the bunk beds in order to steady himself. He placed his notebook on the small night stand, sliding down to the floor and sitting heavily on the rough carpet with a long, low exhale of breath.

His nerves were a wreck, leaving Sora feeling as if his entire body was wracked with invisible shivers that only he could feel. Sighing, the brunet leaned his head back against the bed post and shut his eyes, arms wrapping themselves around his stomach to try and comfort the twisting and churning bundle in his gut.

The room shifted to the side again, and then tilted in the opposite direction before falling back. The lump in bed moved a fraction, and Sora gasped when Cloud's thick, black wing fell from the bundle and thudded to the ground limply. Staring at it, the brunet couldn't help but flutter his fingertips over the quivering leather that stretched taut between each of the bone-like rungs that made up the wing itself.

Cloud wasn't the most talkative of coworkers- that being the very reason that Cid had hired him to do clerical work. When Sora would come in from helping Cid do the odd-job, he'd find Cloud flipping listlessly through an old magazine, or reading a book he'd brought with him. After issuing his cheery greetings to the blond man, Sora would always find himself given a stoic nod or a softly muttered 'hello' in return.

On particularly slow days, when Sora wouldn't be needed in the shop, he'd sit on the counter and listen to Cloud softly tell him stories about his life in Midgar, though they were always vague and filled with a bitter type of recollection. It made Sora feel special to know that the stoic man had bothered to let Sora in on his life - even if it was just a little - and the exuberant teen had always felt grateful towards his coworker for considering him trustworthy of such information.

Cloud shifted on the bed, grunting softly when the ship heaved once more. Sora watched silently as the man tried to sit up on his elbows, arms shaking under the strain for a few seconds until Cloud exhaled quietly and flopped down on his side, back facing the door. Sora grabbed onto the bed post and lifted himself up to peer over Cloud's prone form.

He took careful measure not to tread on the large wing that protruded out of the older man's back -- and covered a good part of the floor -- and raised a hand to brush locks of pale gold hair from Cloud's cheeks. His only reaction was the furrowing of thin brows and pursed lips before Cloud's face relaxed back into sleep.

The siren shut off, encasing the room in a deafening silence that was only broken by the deep breaths of sleep that came from Cloud's immobile body, and the rustling of his leathery wing that followed each rise and fall. Sora glanced over to the door, and then back to Cloud before turning around and sitting down again, pressing his back up against the bed post for some stability. He hugged his knees to his chest, fingers intertwining in the process.

Outside the door, he could hear Riku and Leon arguing - though what they were saying, he couldn't decipher- and Sora opted to rest his forehead onto a knee to try and calm his frazzled nerves.

After a few seconds, Sora reached back into the pocket of his pants and tugged out his cell phone, flipping it open and scowling when he realized that he no longer had service. He flipped it shut, thumb catching under the lid to open it again. He mindlessly began to open and close the small device, head resting on his knees and eyes at half-mast. Beside him, Cloud grunted and his wing flexed itself out and fell still once more, as if the man was in the throes of a dream.

Things continued on like that for a few more moments before Sora paused to listen to the sounds of Leon and Riku talking become louder and stop outside of the door. He tucked his phone back into the pocket of his shorts, folding his legs under himself and concentrating his eyes on the door when it slid open.

Riku was the first person to step inside, his head turned to look at the man behind him as Leon continued talking about something in regards to the 'heartless' things that Riku had mentioned. Sora pushed himself to his feet to stand in front of Cloud's prone form, mindful of the large wing splayed on the ground. His hands curled into fists, lips pursing into a scowl that was directed at the two newcomers. Leon paused in mid-sentence to nudge his head towards Sora, and Riku followed the man's gaze, thin brow quirking in inquiry at Sora's stance.

"Where are we going?" Was the first thing that came from Sora's mouth, shifting his feet closer to the bed. "_Who_ are you? What do you _want_ with us?" The questions kept coming, unbidden from Sora as his desperation rose with each sentence. "Why did you save us? What's wrong with Cloud? What were those things?" Riku stepped towards Sora and the shorter boy stumbled back, hands flying out to stop him.

"Don't come any closer! How do I know you're not the one who did this to him?" Sora's leg caught on the frame of the bed, his head hitting the top bunk before the brunet found himself falling back onto Cloud's sleeping body. Before he could react, strong hands were grabbing his outstretched arms and hefting him up and off of Cloud as the blond man's wing began to flap wildly. Sora felt himself knocked to the side by the thick appendage, pulled into someone's arms when he went flying into the wall.

"Leon, do something!" Sora heard Riku shout, and instantly realized that it was the silver-haired boy who was shielding him from Cloud's renegade wing. Sora squirmed out of Riku's arms, trying to get back to Cloud and freezing when he saw Leon holding the blond man in a headlock as Cloud writhed and shrieked. Sora felt his blood run cold, taking in the red irises of Cloud's once-pale blue eyes, and the grimace that was pulled over his friend's lips.

Riku grabbed Sora by the stomach, dragging him backwards out of the room before the younger boy could protest. The door slid shut, drowning out the sounds of Cloud's screaming and engulfing the two boys in a muted silence.

Pain throbbed in the back of Sora's head from where he'd hit it on the bed, but the teen ignored it and instantly kicked his way out of Riku's arms, shoving the taller boy back and trying to get into the room once more. Riku's hands grabbed his wrists, pulling Sora away from the door with some effort. "**Stop!**" Riku barked, forcing Sora to face him. "He's not your friend right now. If Leon's right, then he's fighting with the darkness inside of him. There's nothing you can do to help him."

"What are you talking about? Let me go!" Sora's knees buckled under him, dropping to the ground to try and pry his wrists out of Riku's hold. He kicked at the other boy's shin, satisfied to hear a grunt of pain escape Riku's throat. Riku didn't seem to happy with this, and wrenched Sora to his feet, drawing their faces so close that his nose bumped against Sora's own and holding tightly to the younger boy's shoulders.

"Listen to **me**, you brat!" He hissed, bright eyes narrowing into a menacing manner. Sora felt his energy escape him, shoulders going lax, though his mouth remained thinned in a defiant scowl. Riku seemed compliant with this, and continued.

"What happened to your friend was **bad news**. We can't let him go running around killing people because he's half human and half heartless. _That's _why he's with us, and _that's_ why you can't go in there." With each word that Riku stressed on, Sora's shoulder was given a firm shake. It sent fear through him like a shock of cold water to be forced with the realization that he was at the mercy of a complete stranger, and Sora had to use everything in him not to tear his eyes from Riku's penetrating stare.

"What are you going to do with us?" His voice was hushed, brows furrowed in defiance. Riku's face softened, and his hands loosened their vice grip on the shorter boy's body.

"First, I'm gonna ask your name." His right hand fell away to point to himself. "I'm Riku. My home planet is Radiant Garden, and Leon is my friend, he's from Balamb Garden." Riku gave Sora and expectant half-smile. Sora, feeling awkward, cleared his throat and ran a nervous hand through his unruly chestnut hair.

"I'm Sora." Riku's eyebrows flew up into his hairline, obviously expecting a more detailed answer with the way he inclined his head forward. Sora rolled his eyes, a sigh leaving him and the corner of his mouth quirking. "I'm.. uh.. seventeen. I lived in Twilight Town until two years ago, and then we moved to Destiny Islands... which was just attacked by deranged black ... things --"

"Heartless." Riku blurted out, his smile encouraging. Sora's shoulders rose and fell.

"Yeah, heartless. My friend, Roxas, was the one who called my phone earlier--"

"You mean that silver thing that you were yelling into?" Riku's face was one of obvious interest, as if he'd never come across an object like a cell phone before. Sora gave the other boy an odd look, nodding. "Yeah, that's my phone."

"What does it do?" Riku raised a hand to brush a few unruly locks of silver hair from his eyes. "Is it how you communicate with other fighters? That's advanced, does everyone on your planet have it?" Sora listened to Riku prattle on about battle technology while pulling out his cell phone, flipping it open and scowling at the lack of service on his screen. Without a second to spare, it was snatched out of Sora's loose grip by Riku, who held it up to the light with scrutiny. He flicked it open, staring at the phone's wallpaper with curiosity before hitting a few trial buttons.

"Its not going to work, I don't have service." Sora added in when he watched Riku put the phone to his ear. A scowl breached the silver haired boy's face and he handed the phone back to Sora.

"Guess it's not that great if it doesn't even work inside a ship." The boy scoffed, waving a hand about and then placing it on his hip. Sora pulled his lips back in a mocking sneer, mimicking Riku's words with a haughty edge as he tucked his phone back into the pocket of his torn cargo shorts.

"It helps if I'm actually on the planet." He muttered, obviously put out at the other boy's attitude. Riku seemed to notice this, and shifted awkwardly before turning around.

"Anyway, follow me and I'll get you some new stuff to wear, since your clothes are torn." Giving Sora a wave, the young fighter lead the brunet down the hallway and into another room that was similar to the one he'd just been in. Placing his hand on the side panel to open it, Riku stepped over the threshold, waving a hand about.

"This is where I sleep, don't mind the mess." Sora stepped over a discarded glass bottle, toeing it and watching the bright green liquid inside slosh about. He glanced up to see Riku rooting through something similar to a dresser, pulling out a black piece of fabric, followed by what looked like a pair of pants that were similar to Riku's own, though a darker shade of brown.

"Try these on, they should fit you... sorta." Riku tossed the aforementioned clothes over to the other boy before slipping past him to leave the room, door sliding shut a second afterwards. Sora eyed the clothes for a moment, and then dropped them to the floor in order to divest himself of the tattered remains of his shirt, throwing it to his feet and shucking off his shorts a second later.

Picking up what looked like a sleeveless black turtleneck, Sora pulled it on over his head, grunting when the fabric bunched at the neck around his face before his head popped through. It was soft, unlike any material he'd ever felt- like a cross between silk and cotton- and Sora couldn't help but run his hands smoothly over his stomach, realizing he'd yet to put on the pants after a few prolonged moments. Embarrassed at his foolishness, Sora tugged them on, dismayed to feel that they didn't hold snugly enough to his hips as the brunet would have liked.

"Beggars can't be choosers." He uttered under his breath, bending down to pull his cell phone and house keys out of the pockets of his shorts and to stick them in an odd, pouch-like pocket that was located on the thigh of his pants.

He turned to approach the door again, seeing the same hand panel as on the other side and pressing his palm against it to see Riku leaning against the opposing wall, arms crossed and eyes downcast. When the door opened, the silver haired boy glanced up, grinning at Sora.

"Looks good." This statement caused something in Sora to clench, and he couldn't stop the grin that came to his face at the sudden compliment. He ducked his head, murmuring a soft, 'thanks', and running his hands nervously against his thighs.

Riku pushed himself off of the wall, clapping Sora on the back. "Well, I guess I should let you know now that we're headed to Traverse Town to stock up, so are there any questions you had before we got there?"

Sora nodded. "Yeah, a few."

x-x-x-x-x

Pain, pain in his chest, like a dull, burning agony that spread out in a hollow ache through each of his nerves and left Roxas feeling as if he had barely escaped death with his body intact. Staring into the blackness ahead of him, Roxas vaguely realized that his eyes were not even open, and struggled to force them aprt, taking in the sight of his room -- completely trashed beyond belief -- and groaned as his head throbbed with each breath he took.

Glass that had come from his window being broken in was scattered about and mingled with bits of shattered porcelain from his lamp, making it a virtual danger zone to the blond boy, who was lying, face down, on the floor at the foot of his bed, blood leaking from various wounds on his face and arms. He drew in a shuddering breath, reaching one arm out and grasping at the carpet to try and pull himself forward, glass tearing at his skin and clothes in the process. Roxas grunted with the effort, dizziness striking him tenfold and magnifying the headache he'd begun to acquire upon waking up.

There were voices coming from somewhere in the house, but they were ones that Roxas didn't recognize. The sound of heavy footsteps ascending the stairs pounded heavily in his head as a man's voice called out. "I'll check upstairs!"

Roxas let a strained breath leave him, his other arm reaching out to help pull himself forward. They shook with the effort, a cough breaking past the blond's lips before he could stifle it. Not a second later, a blond head popped into his doorway, belonging to a young man that Roxas had never seen before. The man's face lit up, aqua eyes shining with delight as he pulled back to yell out to his companions. "There's someone in here!"

Having done so, the man toed his way around the glass to crouch down in front of Roxas' prone form. Roxas tilted his head up to look at the newcomer, taking in the odd, black cloak and foreign garb, along with the mohawk of dirty blond hair atop the man's head and ears littered with piercings. To the skater, he looked like some kind of rouge traveller out of an action and fantasy movie.

A gloved hand reached out to grab Roxas' shoulder, pushing the blond onto his side before he could weakly protest. The man's face turned down into a short scowl as two more men entered the room.

"This place reeks of the heartless." Spoke a quiet, disdain-filled voice belonging to a petite man with violet hair and crossed arms. The man before Roxas turned to look at his companions.

"Zexy, the heartless got him."

The shorter one of the newcomers who had spoken earlier, closed his one visible eye. "It can't be helped. Lexaeus." Beside him, a tall brute of a man stepped forward and approached the two blonds, nodding once to the mohawked-man and then reaching out to gather Roxas' limp body in his arms.

Had Roxas the energy, he may have protested, pleaded, and yelled at them to let him go and leave him be. The fact was, Roxas felt like something had been ripped out of him, and he barely had the energy to keep his eyes cracked open and watch as he was carried down the stairs and out of his own house. His head lolled around limply, gaze wandering from the two other men that were in the lead, and to the wreckage that had become his small apartment that he shared with his family.

As they walked down the sidewalk, Roxas barely caught sight of a large, brightly colored ship before he succumbed to the darkness that pulled at him, eyes sliding shut as his consciousness drifted out once more.

* * *

**BAM.**

Psycho Rooster here. So, I haven't really been in contact with Random Kyuubi because I kind of threw my cell phone into the curb in the middle of a Walmart parking lot, and I maybe kind of forgot her phone number since I haven't actually dialed it in about a year...

So, right now, things are a little hectic. I've got to get a blood test done because my parents are worried I'm becoming anemic, and I'm moving to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida the weekend after my graduation, which is at the beginning of June. I got in trouble with my mom the other day, so I'm not going to Jacon any more. (this made me highly upset, because I got in trouble for something that was not equal to the punishment)

I was actually very reluctant to post this first chapter because I've put an insane amount of effort into it these past months and I'm worried that I'll only get minimal feedback like I usually do for anything that isn't Carmine Complex. D:

Besides this, I'm also working on chapter three of Best of You. I really know I should be working on Carmine Complex, but the majority of the next chapter for that was lost to the 'document life' that has now put into action, and I just lost all motivation for it.


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